Meanwhile, it is simply dishonest to pretend that the "Cesar Chavez Act" was taken seriously by the Democratic Party. If it was, why isn't it the law? Clinton could have easily jammed it down the RP's throat, and probably gained in popularity in so doing. He didn't make a peep. It was a dog-and-pony show to keep the AFL-CIO lapdog from thinking about chewing on its leash.
And if repealing Taft-Hartley is so outré and even inferior to the Republican co-sponsored check system you like, why not do it? That's right: Because the neo-thugs running the AFL-CIO want no part of rank-and-file unionism that isn't strangled by T-H. "Check this box if you want the AFL-CIO to 'service' you.... Politics? What's that? President Kerry is doing his best for all of us!"
-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of John Lacny Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 1:51 PM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] An Anti-Labor Day
I will not deal with Michael Dawson's belittling of ergonomics standards, which is anti-worker and downright offensive. And Nathan Newman has expertly eviscerated Dawson on the subject of the proposed ban on perma-scabs that was sunk by the Republicans. But then we have this:
Michael Dawson writes:
> Where is the repeal of Taft-Hartley?
It would behoove Michael to get with the times and understand the real demands of the labor movement today, rather than pretending that it is fifty-five years ago. Repealing Taft-Hartley and essentially going back to the Wagner Act laws is a nice idea, but there are other proposals on the table right now, including the Employee Free Choice Act -- endorsed by Kerry and Edwards and most Democrats, and even some Republicans to the point where it is likely to pass the Senate, though it will inevitably fail in the Republican-controlled House. This act would arguably give us the best labor law we have ever had in the form of card-check as the legally-established form of union recognition. That alone would make some of the worst of Taft-Hartley superfluous. Of course the prohibitions on secondary boycotts, the open-shop states, and all of that should be done away with, but I don't see how sitting around and whining impotently about Democratic unwillingness to do it is an effective substitute for a strategy to actually get there.
- - - - - John Lacny http://www.johnlacny.com
People of the US, unite and defeat the Bush regime and all its running dogs! ___________________________________ http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk